Top Golf Newsmakers of 2022: No. 14 Jennifer Kupcho
Who She Is: LPGA member, three-time winner in 2022
SI Golf Rank: 10 (Alex Miceli), 10 (Jeff Ritter)
Why She's Here: Kupcho jumped on the scene when she won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019, but she was a rising star even before that in winning the 2018 NCAA Individual Championship for Wake Forest University.
Finishing runner-up in tournaments in each of her first three seasons on the LPGA Tour, it was 2022 that saw the 25-year-old get over the victory hump with a major win at The Chevron Championship and two other wins. The three-win season established Kupcho as one of the better Americans on a tour dominated by players from other countries.
Other Top Newsmakers: No. 15 Matt Fitzpatrick | No. 16. Keith Pelley | No. 17 Judge Beth Labson Freeman | No. 18 Max Homa | No. 19 Rose Zhang | No. 20 Henrik Stenson
More steady than flashy, the Colorado native has shown a game that is more methodical in its approach, missing only four cuts during the 2022 season and making the cut in all five majors.
Finishing sixth and the top American in the year-end Race to the CME standings, Kupcho’s 2022 is likely a steppingstone to the next level.
“I think one of the biggest things I've fought over the last year and a half is everyone is out here cheering for Nelly or Lexi or someone else I'm playing with,” Kupcho said after her two-shot victory over Jessica Korda at The Chevron Championship. “I don't ever hear, 'go, Jennifer.'”
2023 Outlook: Even with three victories, tying Lydia Ko with the most wins on the LPGA Tour in 2022, Kupcho seems hungry for more. In a Solheim Cup year Kupcho is likely a lock, but her competitive juices, honed as an amateur, will still be at their peak as she tries to add to her victory total.
One place for improvement may be on the greens, where she was 119th in putting average and 67th in putts per GIR.
Better approaches on the greens could make 2023 as good if not better than her breakthrough 2022.